Timbits And Tidbits
Oct. 16th, 2012 11:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeOur final 36 hours in Canada, aside from Granville Island which I have already detailed, involved us spending a great amont of time with the wonderful Trapa. He met up with us outside our hotel on the Thursday evening (4 October) after we had said goodbye to Univaded. We had spent most of the day wandering around downtown, waiting for a twitter friend of mine called Bullet Wolf to show up. Sadly, he never did, having double booked us, so we just soaked up the atmosphere in this city of skyscrapers while also looking for a backpack in which to store my newly-bought trainers for the flight home. We traipsed around department store after department store but all the bags were overpriced, until a small independent running store gave us a bag for free. That was very nice.
We also stopped off at the delightful Tim Horton's, not once but twice, on Thursday and then again on Friday. We had to sample the Timbits, effectively the holes they punch out of the donuts, which you can buy in boxes of 10, 20 or 40. We got 20 and all five flavours were delicious, particularly the coconut coated chocolate ones. Furthermore, I first enjoyed a tea latte and then a white hot chocolate in this tea based homage to Starbucks. I only hope they make it over to Britain sometime.
So once Trapa had met up with us at the hotel, we headed over to White Spot, a local chain restaurant which is analogous to our Wetherspoons or Little Chef. The food was kinda average but the price was right, while I got to sample one of the local delicacies, poutine. Effectively, chips and gravy with grated cheese curd in it, this delight isn't a million miles from what you can buy in a Yorkshire fish and chip shop. The gravy has to be beef and the curd a particular shape but thankfully White Spot hit the spot, despite the sour cream twist they put on the dish. We also enjoyed a nice burger - the burgers in Canada are excellent - before retiring to the Yaletown Brewery once more to imbibe in some delicious microbrews.
On Friday, we headed down to UBC, the University of British Columbia, which is situated on Point Grey, to the west of the city. Surrounded by sea, this is a really beautiful part of the city, replete with its own forest as it was once land belonging to the First Nation people. We braved a bus to get there - which admittedly was quick and efficient - and arrived to meet our guide Aleria, who was loitering outside the student union with her turquoise ears on. I missed her as we walked past but Wolfie was astute enough to spot her, which was just as well really as she was going to show us around the Museum of Anthropology, one of the highlights of the city.
Aleria is of First Nation descent and is studying the indigenous people at UBC, so was an excellent and passionate tour guide around one of the biggest museums in the world dedicated to what we would call Native Americans. The majority of the artefacts in the museum came from the Kwakwaka'wakw and Musqueam people, whose elders had expressed their consent to having their prized artefacts on display. There were ceremonial masks and attire, as well as huge totem poles and housing posts dominating a huge glass atrium. Wooden sculptures also played a huge role in the museum, with the yellow cedar sculpture The Raven and the First Men by indigenous artist Bill Reid being a particular highlight. So famous is this design that it features on the Canadian twenty dollar bill, and it is a fitting testament to the ways and traditions of the First Nation people.
The museum is an adjunct to the functioning university and due to their drawer-based filing system, around 80% of their store is actually on display. This is unprecedented for a museum of this size so it was a real privilege to look around and discover a great deal about the indigenous tribes of North America. The museum is not without controversy - many of the artefacts are sacred - and while consent from the elders has been given, there are some in the community naturally wary of displaying too much about their unique culture. As well as North American cultures, there are also some artefacts detailing the lives of indigenous tribes around the world, as well as two nice ancillory exhibits - one on the silver trade in Peru sponsored by a huge silver mining conglomerate and another about Buddhism.
After a cookie in the cafe, and saying our farewells to Aleria, we headed towards the Nitobe Memorial Garden, a traditional style Japanese garden built to honour the diplomat Nitobe Inazo. Despite it being by a pretty main road, it was a very tranquil place. You can walk around the 2.5 acre garden in about 20 minutes but you are urged to take it slowly, wandering around stone pagodas, monuments and bridges highlighting the journey of life from birth, to adolescence, marriage and death. The highlight is the Japanese tea house, constructed in traditional style, surrounded by an outer tea garden with a waiting bench and an inner garden.
Leaving the garden, we were dismayed to discover a First Bus in full operation around the campus, before turning left and heading down the 459 steep steps to the sea. We had landed on a nudist beach, on which we could see a lot of fat men with their floppy bits hanging out. The beach described clothing as being optional and as the wind was brisk and the vast majority of people were not being immodest, we decided just to sit on a log and watch the autumn sun glistening off the crystal clear waters. There were boats, invariably red, bobbing up and down in the distance and the whole thing was incredibly relaxing. It was this that ended our trip to UBC aside from a pleasant stroll through the campus during which I got to experience student life again and see a range of building work being done. It's good to see universities thriving I see. The central boulevard has two flags, the Canadian at one end overlooking the sea and the British Columbian on the other, which was a very nice touch.
Heading back into town, we got to meet up with Trapa again, who lived near the bus stop we debussed (is that a word? Detrained is a word so I'm assuming so). We didn't really have any plan for the evening aside picking up Rain Rat so Trapa drove out east, picked up our ratty friend and kept driving, out of the city, over some stunning bridges and into the countryside towards Chilliwack, where he grew up. This is where the Fraser Valley narrows and heads into the mountains, the start of true British Columbia with all of the countryside to boot. We had hoped to have seen some of the mountains and trees but sadly, it was Friday evening and the Thanksgiving weekend getaway had begun. Consequently, we got stuck in some hideous traffic and ended up going to a Tim Horton's near the Canada/US border - literally less than a mile away - turning around and heading straight back into downtown Vancouver.
We called back at Gizmo's place on the way home, where his flatmate showed us his cute fennec fox which he keeps as a pet. He also has a loud and annoying parrot which wouldn't shut up. We then headed to a nice restaurant for a little bite to eat - in my case more poutine - before heading back to the hotel, thus ending our final night in the city.
We also stopped off at the delightful Tim Horton's, not once but twice, on Thursday and then again on Friday. We had to sample the Timbits, effectively the holes they punch out of the donuts, which you can buy in boxes of 10, 20 or 40. We got 20 and all five flavours were delicious, particularly the coconut coated chocolate ones. Furthermore, I first enjoyed a tea latte and then a white hot chocolate in this tea based homage to Starbucks. I only hope they make it over to Britain sometime.
So once Trapa had met up with us at the hotel, we headed over to White Spot, a local chain restaurant which is analogous to our Wetherspoons or Little Chef. The food was kinda average but the price was right, while I got to sample one of the local delicacies, poutine. Effectively, chips and gravy with grated cheese curd in it, this delight isn't a million miles from what you can buy in a Yorkshire fish and chip shop. The gravy has to be beef and the curd a particular shape but thankfully White Spot hit the spot, despite the sour cream twist they put on the dish. We also enjoyed a nice burger - the burgers in Canada are excellent - before retiring to the Yaletown Brewery once more to imbibe in some delicious microbrews.
On Friday, we headed down to UBC, the University of British Columbia, which is situated on Point Grey, to the west of the city. Surrounded by sea, this is a really beautiful part of the city, replete with its own forest as it was once land belonging to the First Nation people. We braved a bus to get there - which admittedly was quick and efficient - and arrived to meet our guide Aleria, who was loitering outside the student union with her turquoise ears on. I missed her as we walked past but Wolfie was astute enough to spot her, which was just as well really as she was going to show us around the Museum of Anthropology, one of the highlights of the city.
Aleria is of First Nation descent and is studying the indigenous people at UBC, so was an excellent and passionate tour guide around one of the biggest museums in the world dedicated to what we would call Native Americans. The majority of the artefacts in the museum came from the Kwakwaka'wakw and Musqueam people, whose elders had expressed their consent to having their prized artefacts on display. There were ceremonial masks and attire, as well as huge totem poles and housing posts dominating a huge glass atrium. Wooden sculptures also played a huge role in the museum, with the yellow cedar sculpture The Raven and the First Men by indigenous artist Bill Reid being a particular highlight. So famous is this design that it features on the Canadian twenty dollar bill, and it is a fitting testament to the ways and traditions of the First Nation people.
The museum is an adjunct to the functioning university and due to their drawer-based filing system, around 80% of their store is actually on display. This is unprecedented for a museum of this size so it was a real privilege to look around and discover a great deal about the indigenous tribes of North America. The museum is not without controversy - many of the artefacts are sacred - and while consent from the elders has been given, there are some in the community naturally wary of displaying too much about their unique culture. As well as North American cultures, there are also some artefacts detailing the lives of indigenous tribes around the world, as well as two nice ancillory exhibits - one on the silver trade in Peru sponsored by a huge silver mining conglomerate and another about Buddhism.
After a cookie in the cafe, and saying our farewells to Aleria, we headed towards the Nitobe Memorial Garden, a traditional style Japanese garden built to honour the diplomat Nitobe Inazo. Despite it being by a pretty main road, it was a very tranquil place. You can walk around the 2.5 acre garden in about 20 minutes but you are urged to take it slowly, wandering around stone pagodas, monuments and bridges highlighting the journey of life from birth, to adolescence, marriage and death. The highlight is the Japanese tea house, constructed in traditional style, surrounded by an outer tea garden with a waiting bench and an inner garden.
Leaving the garden, we were dismayed to discover a First Bus in full operation around the campus, before turning left and heading down the 459 steep steps to the sea. We had landed on a nudist beach, on which we could see a lot of fat men with their floppy bits hanging out. The beach described clothing as being optional and as the wind was brisk and the vast majority of people were not being immodest, we decided just to sit on a log and watch the autumn sun glistening off the crystal clear waters. There were boats, invariably red, bobbing up and down in the distance and the whole thing was incredibly relaxing. It was this that ended our trip to UBC aside from a pleasant stroll through the campus during which I got to experience student life again and see a range of building work being done. It's good to see universities thriving I see. The central boulevard has two flags, the Canadian at one end overlooking the sea and the British Columbian on the other, which was a very nice touch.
Heading back into town, we got to meet up with Trapa again, who lived near the bus stop we debussed (is that a word? Detrained is a word so I'm assuming so). We didn't really have any plan for the evening aside picking up Rain Rat so Trapa drove out east, picked up our ratty friend and kept driving, out of the city, over some stunning bridges and into the countryside towards Chilliwack, where he grew up. This is where the Fraser Valley narrows and heads into the mountains, the start of true British Columbia with all of the countryside to boot. We had hoped to have seen some of the mountains and trees but sadly, it was Friday evening and the Thanksgiving weekend getaway had begun. Consequently, we got stuck in some hideous traffic and ended up going to a Tim Horton's near the Canada/US border - literally less than a mile away - turning around and heading straight back into downtown Vancouver.
We called back at Gizmo's place on the way home, where his flatmate showed us his cute fennec fox which he keeps as a pet. He also has a loud and annoying parrot which wouldn't shut up. We then headed to a nice restaurant for a little bite to eat - in my case more poutine - before heading back to the hotel, thus ending our final night in the city.
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no subject
Date: 2012-10-17 12:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-17 09:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-18 12:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-17 11:09 pm (UTC)I'm glad you had fun there, and the museum sounds fascinating! There's some Native American museums around Oklahoma close to me, but I haven't had much chance to visit them.
Speaking of being less than a mile from the border, I was within a quarter mile of the other end of Canada this morning. XD Had a pickup at a warehouse that was next door to the US point of entry in the tippy-top of New York. My cellphone even went roaming onto a Canadian tower and I had to shut data off, lol!
How is the fall foliage over there? in northern NY it's been pretty colorful and vibrant.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-22 01:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-22 10:07 pm (UTC)When you visit Waitrose sometime, you could do much worse than picking up a tub of Drink Me Spiced Chai Latte. Just need to add boiling/hot water to 3-4 teaspoons, and you have a rather lovely drink. (It may well, of course, be available elsewhere, but that's where I know it is to be found)
analogous to our Wetherspoons or Little Chef
I'm not sure I'd call Wetherspoons quite that bad. =:) But, yes, neither are exactly inspiring, with everything essentially pre-prepared. (The housemate told me of some show, perhaps involved Gordon Ramsey, wherein he visited a Little Chef, with the intent of livening up its offerings, only to discover they had basically as minimal kitchen facilities as feasible - just griddles, more or less) Still, yes, if you're out for a few pints and want just something to chow down on, something like their mixed grill isn't a bad option, especially on Tuesdays, when their grill and burger offerings are cheaper than usual - around £6.50 for one of those, including a good pint, is quite reasonable.
Of course, JDW come in many flavors - the one in central Cardiff's fairly naked in layout, and there's not much atmosphere in Bath's, whilst High Wycombe's is actually surprisingly cozy.
wary of displaying too much about their unique culture
Yet, of course, through such we can hope to understand their culture, before the world got turned upside down.
This entry is, I feel compelled to note, without photographs. *cough* ^_^